Bookcase



Aug. 20, 1935. J. E. WHEATLEY 4 2,011,962

BOOKGASE I Filed Feb. 5, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 wfi A TTORNE Y.

I BY

UNITED S I PATENT. OFFICE; I r 'BO'OKCASE I v ,7 John E. Wheatle fNpi-woofl, O i v Application Februar 15, 1 1 Serial N 5132632 9 Claims. (4,3 1,- f

Patented Aug. 29,1935 I k "My invention relates to 4 furniture, and its ob je'ctis-to provide 'a' bookcase that can beset up or taken down without disturbing the books therein, and that, when taken down, can be securely and rigidly held in condition for shipping, andwheri setup will presenta neat appearance as a piece of furniture. Gther objects will a pear in the course of the following description; 10

'I'attainthese objects by the devicefillustrated, for example, in the accompanying drawings, in whichnr, I H

Figure l is ageneralpersp'ective view of the 3 bookcase set up for use, with a few books therein forthepurpose of illustrating the operation: of

certaindetails of the device; a I

Fig.2 is a partial-perspective view of the book- I on the bottoms of thefsections; n -Fig.'3 is a perspective view of the bookcasein packed condition, looking: from above; II I I I iat Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of one of the' fendersy I 3 Fig,'5is a similar'view of one of the binding rodSi- I7 i ofthe line"6-6 of Fig. '7; I

'--Fig; 7 isa vertical front to rear section on the plane .ofthe line l- -i of Fig.6; 7 Fig? '8 "is anenlargement -of the upper left corner part of the section of Fig. '7; and I -Fig 9 is a perspective view of'the bookcasein Packed condition with a cover -thereon."='

*The"bookc'ase" comprises-two sections I", each of the form of a rectangularbox with sides 2 and t, bottom 4, top Band back 6, all of which preferably'are' of wood and very securely and rigidly secured together, as for instance by glued dovetail or locked joints, which, being wellknown in the art,'and notbeingv noticeable after the 7 sections are varnished or otherwise finished,='are not indicatedin the' illustrations'. 'Each' side 2 and 3 preferably has a series of grooves Rand 5.1 When in use, usuallyonsection 1 is like, are secured to the b ottoms of I the sections, preferably by adhesive material; so that the top sectionfwillrest firmlyup on the lower section; Preferably fthese strips 9 are three in number,

one at the middle near theback and the other two atrespectivefront corners and set in so as not to be visible'when' the sections are set up.

The three strips insure a firm bearing of the 7 one section upon the other. i

is a vertical cross section on the plane the corners of the sections, preventw g H set upon topofthe' othenas in Fig. 1. To compensateffor inaccuracies, thin strips of paper, cloth or the The" bottom; haveapproximately central I openings in which arefixed threadedw bushings the openings ll "preferably having theirjlo wer ends; inside the sections, counterbomd at]! l, admitting the head of the screw 'IEI', which pref:- erably is limited in h'eightso that it does-not extend materially past the inside surface of the top 5 and is out of the way of the books: These screws clamp the two sections together in vertical a'linement when setup "for use,q-and' bee cause of the three-point bearing afiorde'd'by the strips 9, this clamping -maybemade very rigid.

The back of each "section hasiour openings at the respective inside corners, each preferably having'a bushing'lz fitting tightly therein, and each bushing having at its outer end, against the exterior ofthe back 5 around the opening; a

6 thatthe binding rods M, when inserted in the bushing's as above explained, liefirmly against I the adjacent inner surfaces of the tops 5 or bottoms 4 and sides 2 and 3Q Also, the 'rods' I4 are shorter than the distance between the exteriors of the flanges l3. The rods I4 thus bind the section's-together, and by their olose contact with theinterior walls of the sectionsadjjacent avin'g of thesectionsaorosseachother. 1

When the case 'isset up,-'the rods i4, removed, mayhavetheir screws I 5" reinserted in their ends and thus may be stored until again neededyand when the case is packed, the thumb screw I0 is removedand packed with the-books; J Suitable plugs may be provided for the openings where the screws are removed Packing material, or additional books; may be placed between the books of theltwo "sections'to compensate for differences of si'ze's 'offthe book's stored in the sections;

flange I3. For packing,the sections lare placed frontto front-and" binding rods-I l are -placed V 3'0 tive bushing flanges t3; The" openings, and the bushings [2' therein, are so located, inthe backs I 'The device is especially useful for traveling clergymen, missionaries, students; engineers,

officials or 1 others require a: considerable outfit of books; yet must frequently move-and live in, small quarters, as hotel or dormitoryroonis'. barracks and the like; When set up the oase h'as'l a neat appearance, of furniture rather than packing and unpacking, and saves wear and tear on the books, as well as avoiding the annoyance of misplacing books, once the books have been arranged in the order most convenient for the user.

with its lower member extending toward the middle of the section and its upper member thus spaced up friom the bottom of the section and extending over with its longitudinal edge against the sideofthesection. I 'hese fenderslG are held in placeby the books resting thereon as the sections are handled in placing them together for packing; and the rods may easily be inserted and secured asbefore explained.

,Each section I has on'its back 6 a handle ll, so

that when the sections are bound together the single package thusniade up may be lifted by two persons, one at each handle I1. I As the sections are provided with finish, as before mentioned, it is desirable to protect this finish in transit, as by the covering shown in Fig.9. i This covering, as here shown, comprises an upper bag-like member l8 and a lower flap member IS. The upper member I8 has apertures 20 in its sides through whichthe handles I! may protrude when the covering is inplace. The lower member [9 is stitched to one lower edge 2| of the upper member l8 and has at its other three edges the flaps 22, 23 and 24 to lap outside the lower rim portion 25 of the upper member, I8 when the latter is slipped downover the assembled, sections I; the handles l1 being worked out through the-apertures 20 as the upper member I8 is worked down over the sections, and then the package is lifted and the lower member L9 is worked under it andits flaps are folded upward and fastened by the snap fasteners 26 and the straps 21 with'buckles 28. This covering is designedto avoid, the necessityof overturning the package for putting the covering 011, as well asof lifting the package as a whole; the lower flap member I9 being adapted to be worked into place upnn merely tilting the package.

The exteriors of the sides and tops are finished with varnish, wax, or other usual furniture finishes. The bottoms and backs need have only a filler or stain; and the front edges which are brought. tightly together in packing are preferably finished in a manner that will result in the least: marringincident vto this contact under: the

conditions of transportation, as by a filler or stain of the appropriate color to match the finish of the sides; omitting such finish as varnishfrom these edges orfaces, which finish would be so marred as to make the case unsightly when, set up. i

Modifications may occur in practice, and while I have rather specifically illustrated and described my invention, I do not wish to be understood as being limitedto such precise disclosure, but what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: l

1. A bookcase comprising two detached book containing'sections with face edges, adapted to be assembled with the face edges together, and means extendingthrough said sections. interiorly cure, and acceptable as a safe piece of baggage, express or freight. It saves labor and time in from said face edges'and lying rigidly against interior surfaces of said sections, for binding the assembled sections together and preventing weaving of one section relatively to the other.

2. A bookcase comprising two detached book containing sections with interior corners and outer face edges, adapted'to be assembled with the face edges together, and means extending through said sections interiorly from said face edges and lying rigidly against interior surfaces of said sections adjacent to the respective corners, for binding the assembled sections together and preventing weaving of one section relatively to the other;

3. A bookcase comprising two detached sections with face edges, adapted to be assembledwith the face edges together, means located interiorly from said edges for binding the assembled sections together, and fenders to hold books away from said means. a

4. A bookcase comprising two detached sections with face edges, adapted to be assembled with the face edges together, means extending through said sectionsinteriorly from said edges for binding the assembled sections together, and fenders to hold books away from said means.

5. A bookcase comprising two detached sections with interior corners and outer face edges, adapted to be assembled with the face edges together, means extending through said sections interiorly from said edges and lying rigidly against interior surfaces of said sections adjacent to the respective corners, and fenders, each of Z-shaped cross section, to extend over respective binding means and hold books away from said means.

. 6. A bookcase comprising two detached sections with interior corners, backs and face edges, adapted to be assembled with the face edges together, said backs having openings adjacent to the respective corners, rods to extend through the assembled sections with their end parts fitting firmly in opposite openings andwith their sides firmly against interior surfaces of the sections adjacent to the respective corners, and means connected to the ends of the rods and bearing against the outsides of said back,- to bind the sections together.

7. A bookcase comprising two detached sections with interior corners, backs and face edges,

' adapted to be assembled with the face edges together, said backs having openings adjacent to the respective corners, rods to extend through the assembled sections with their end firmly in opposite openings and with their sides firmly againstthe interior surfaces of the sections ad- 9. A bookcase comprising detached book-containing sections, and means for binding thesections together, having lateral bearings against the interior walls of the sections to prevent weaving of the sections relatively to each other.

JOHN E. WHEATLEY. 

